Car Construction: Make a dragster

Ready to transform that block of wood into a sleek road rocket? Let's get busy!

Step1

Transferring Design to Body Blank

Cut out the top and side (profile) views from a copy of your working drawing. Then, carefully trace the outline of the views onto the wood blank. Body Blank With Template Transfer

Step 2

Drilling Axle Holes

Transfer the axle hole locations onto the blank by using a sharp pointed tool such as an awl to puncture through the template and into the wood blank. Lay the car blank on its side and drill the axle holes. Axle holes should be drilled perpendicular to Drilling on a Drill Press the car’s longitudinal axis in order for the car to roll freely and straight down the track. A drill press is highly recommended because it makes drilling perpendicular holes a cinch. Drilling on a Drill Press

Step 3

Rough Shaping Your Car Body

Bandsawing or scrollsawing If you haven’t drilled the axle holes yet, do this before shaping the body. Use a band or scroll saw to roughly shape the blank: Turn the blank on its side and cut out the profile view first. Car After sawing Fit the waste pieces and working piece back together and secure them by wrapping two bands of masking tape around the assembly. Set the blank assembly upright and cut out the top view. Remove the masking tape and discard all the waste pieces. Rough Cut Blank Sanding on a Belt Sander Smooth the corners of your car body. Use a bench-mounted sander, sharp knife, wood rasp, files, or rough sandpaper (80 grit) to smooth the car to its basic rounded shape. Fine Sanding Sanded Car Periodically check your car against the spec sheet (especially weight) to make sure the car is still within tolerances. When weighing your car, put the wheels, axles, washers, screw eyes, and any other necessary hardware on the scale along with the body. Sanding With a Rotary Multi-Tool If your design calls for a hollowed-out body, a high-speed engraving works nicely. A variety of milling and sanding bits are helpful for making cavities in the car body. Whenever using power tools to shape the car body, go slowly and cautiously. It’s very easy to remove too much wood and ruin your car!

Step 4

Fine Shaping Your Car Body

Fine Sanding At this point, your car has assumed its basic shape. Now you’re at the stage that separates the really fine cars from the mediocre cars. Extra time and effort spent during the fine shaping, or pre-painting, stage have a huge payoff in the curbside appeal of the final product. Use sandpaper to remove unwanted bumps and irregularities from the body. Use progressively finer grit paper as you go. For example, you might start with 80-grit paper (very course, removes a lot of material) and progress to 220-grit (fine paper for smoothing surfaces). Check your car for symmetry, and sand the body as needed. Also, exposing your car to bright light can help reveal imperfections that need attention.

Step 5

Painting Your Car Body

As in the fine shaping stage, extra patience and effort put into the finishing stage can pay big dividends. Be aware that using several coats of paint can add weight to your car. Insert a 60cm length of 17mm hardwood dowel into the power plant housing of the car body. This makes a very convenient handle for turning the body to paint it from all angles. Apply a coat of white acrylic paint and allow to dry, the moisture in the paint will cause the fibres in the wood to stand up so sand back when dry and then apply another coat. Continue this for three coats using finer sanding paper each time, use you fingers to feel for inperfections in the surface. Painting Use a spray can or airbrush to apply paint to the body. Spray light coats and wait several minutes between coats to allow the paint to dry. Paint wont hide imperfections or dents in your car it will only make them stand out. Don't over spray with heavy coats of paint irt doesn't work you only get wrinkles and drips. Use car rubbing compound to rub back the finish on your car, a little let dry and then rub vigorously until a glass finish is achieved.

Step 6

Final Assembly:

Mounting Wheels and Hardware

Don’t overlook the importance of this stage. A huge factor in race performance is how smoothly the car rolls down the track. Some meticulously shaped cars have failed to finish races because of improperly installed hardware! Gather your hardware: two axles, two straw bearings, four wheels, four washers, and two screw eyes. Depending on the configuration of the car body, different hardware might be required. Hardware Check your specification sheet for rules about wheels, axles, washers, and spacers. Wheel Installation Carefully mount the wheels and axles as dictated by your design. Be careful not to damage the fragile car body during installation. Roll test the car on a smooth, horizontal surface. The car should roll freely, and the wheels should spin without restriction. Make adjustments if necessary. Screw Eye Installation Install the screw eyes on the underside of the car body. Important: Plan the location of the screw eyes so the guideline does not rub against the car body or wheels. Epoxy for Screw Eyes

Congratulations Your dragster is ready for weigh in and than racing. ||